Metro CDOTIMES (April 26 - May 2, 2021)

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CAGAYANLifestyle TIMES Weekly DE ORO

Volume 8 | No. 37 | Cagayan de Oro City | April 26 - May 2, 2021

Gaisano Tubod Mall opens May 15

T

HE first shopping mall in Lanao del Norte province is set to officially open on May 15, 2021.

Gaisano Tubod is a 3-storey Mall, the first mall in Lanao del Norte outside Iligan City located along the National Highway near Poblacion, Tubod at the intersection of the Panguil Bay Bridge Project Access Road.

Gaisano Marketing Manager Gabby Bacarro said Gaisano Tubod Mall is complete with Supermarket, Department

Store, Health & Beauty Cosmetics, Appliance Center, Hardy’s Do-ItYourself, Kitchenware & Furniture, Textiles, Steven’s Gourmet (Breads & Pastries) and a soon-toopen fast food section.

“Mall hours will be from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily,” Bacarro said.

It also has spacious parking areas located at the front, left side and rear of the mall.

The project broke ground in March 2019 but construction was delayed by quarantine measures

imposed by the national and provincial governments following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction of the project resumed on July 2020.

Gaisano Tubod is the latest in a chain of shopping malls in Mindanao owned and operated by Unipace Corporation, which includes Gaisano City Mall in Cagayan de Oro (with branches in Puerto and Bulua), Gaisano Iligan, Gaisano Malaybalay, Gaisano Valencia and Gaisano Butuan.

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

April 26 - May 2, 2021

Sports Tourism

By CHARLES LIM

EUROPE’S SUPER FLOP LEAGUE T HROUGHOUT my years in the UK in the 70s, every single Premier League game I watched was a sheer life time experience - and I would have watched at least 50 of them even in their previous Division One glory. It wasn't just the excitement of the game; the results; or seeing my football idols of my teenage years, it was a lot more than that. It was the unique English football culture which is so hard to explain.

Whenever, I proudly stride into a stadium, be it Wembley, Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane, Elland Road, or Villa Park, there was this feeling of awe as I watch tens of thousands of English football fans fill up every seat available, weekend after weekend and on week nights, during a home match in the UEFA Champions League or Europa League.

It's the mystique of football club tradition, dating back centuries in the form of the chants, the club songs, the paraphernalia proudly worn by fans of different generations that would surely stir you. It's almost, to use an emphatic phrase, a tribal ritual. The sentiment then, I gathered, was loud and clear - THIS IS OUR CLUB; NOBODY CAN TAKE IT AWAY FROM US. Yet, a week ago, out of sheer greed, owners of six English Premier League (EPL) clubs announced they will organize the European

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

CAGAYAN TIMES/Sudaria Group of Companies Publisher MIKE BAÑOS Editor-in-Chief SUSAN P. DENNIS GEAN T. CESAR RANDY FAMACION MAI MAI SISON KLAUS DORING ANNIE GORRA RAGO WENDY RAMOS-GARCIA Contributing Editors CLIFFORD SANTILLAN Layout Artist PINKY DOMINGO Marketing KHRISTHA RIVA FELICILDA Advertising ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI Legal Counsel The Metro CAGAYAN de ORO TIMES newspaper is published weekly at Tanleh Bldg., Abellanosa Street, Consolacion, Cagayan de Oro City.

It is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10 with Certificate No. 01801884, and with Business Registration Plane No. 17211 with Business License Certificate 2014-00691. TIN No. 311-982-549-000 Tele/Fax #: (088) 856-3344 Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CagayandeOroTIMES email us at thecagayandeorotimes@gmail.com Member: Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber)

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Super League (ESL) without consultations with their managers, players and fans. Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs and Liverpool - all owned by foreign investors - had joined Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and Atletico Madrid in what the newly appointed ESL President Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, cynically claimed, "to save football."

Ugh? Within 48 hours of the announcement of the ESL, all six of the English clubs meekly withdrew from the League amidst backlash from fans from, not only the six clubs but all 20 teams of the EPL, with strongest condemnation from former players and managers and the allpowerful, English FA , followed by a blistering attack by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson on behalf of the British government, threatening legislature in Britain to make the ESL nonprofitable should it push through.

It was basically a battle between the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) and ESL as the new league will compete directly with the current Champions League.

Interestingly, no club from the German Bundesliga - Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig and the likes nor from France - Paris St Germain, Lille and Monaco, the current leaders signified any interest in joining. Germany has a law that prohibits majority foreign ownership of the clubs. The fans are happy.

The ESL, now a total flop after 48 hours, would have a fixed league of 20 teams across Europe, competing yearly, without prior qualifications as against the present Champions League with 32 teams which has reached an interesting final stage by next month.

Proponents of the ESL were hoping to reap in billions through television rights a la the National Football League (NFL), NBA or Major League Baseball (MLB) as in the US. But, alas, British football fans are not Yankees nor Bulls.

The controversy has not died down as ESL President Perez insists that the League is on "standby" and the English clubs have a contract and "cannot leave."

At the other end of the field, fans throughout England especially from the 6 ESL teams, are demanding blood. See, what I said about their tribalistic behavior? They want all the owners to leave; put the clubs up for sale and vamoose into thin air.

Fortunately, fans are not allowed into the stadiums due to this pandemic when the EPL matches are still being played. Nevertheless, any inkling of the presence of owners at the games, will gather thousands of them parading outside the grounds demanding that they take their money back to America, Saudi Arabia, Russia or wherever. We are British. This is football. This is our game.

Things are unravelling by the day. The Manchester United executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward is stepping down by the end of the season. The remaining majority 14 clubs in the EPL are contemplating a motion to outvote the 6 rogue clubs out the league and with hefty fines. UEFA too has blown the whistle for a penalty.

Already offers are coming in: Sportify wants to buy Arsenal. Fans, by the tens of thousands are looking at shares to buy out, the owners have been red-carded. The British media has lambasted the owners' decision as pure greed, elitist and totally a betrayal of the trust the fans and club have given them.

UEFA and FIFA have announced they will ban players from playing for their country if they participate in the ESL. This is the cringer and my sympathy go to the players. This will affect hundreds of the creme de la creme from all continents on earth now playing in Europe.

UEFA Vs ESL : the game goes into extra time.

Charles Lim is the founder and chairman of the Philippines Sports Tourism Awards. He has been an advocate of sports tourism since 2004 with the inception of the Sports Tourism Forum - a popular seminar for those in the sports and hospitality industries - which is presently still ongoing. He can be reached at charles.selrahco@ gmail.com.

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CAGAYANTIMES Feature DE ORO

April 26 - May 2, 2021 Page 3

A German Expat in the Philippines

WITH BEETHOVEN UNDER PALMS

By Klaus Döring

Chapter XII: Special Visitors

T

HE time just flew by. Rossana's culture shock was gone. I wondered why she never talked about homesickness. The first year of her stay in German was over. We spent our first vacation in the Canary Islands - one of my favorite places before. Sun, sand beaches, the ocean, blue sky, and pleasant temperature.

The editors' conferences of my law magazines made it possible to travel more and more: by plane or by car. Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Bayreuth, and then Cologne. My publisher just let Rossana come with us. "At least that's how she gets to know Germany", he replied when he saw my incredulous looks.

"I feel so insanely small", she was amazed when we visited and inspected the Cologne Cathedral.

Back in Berlin, we visited one of the largest trade fairs in the city - the International Tourism Exchange. "There is sure to be a Filipino stand there too?" Rossana asked me.

"I'm pretty sure, there is", I replied.

It was the first time she'd speak to Filipino compatriots. Eva was one of the first. She invited us to join the Filipino Community in Berlin.

The community became her second home in Berlin. Cultural events as well as Filipino customs like the Santacruzan or Flores de Mayo took place.

Santacruzan is a religioushistorical beauty pageant held in many cities, towns and even small villages throughout the Philippines during the month of May. Flores de Mayo (or “flowers of May” in Spanish) is a month-long festivity held in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Santacruzan (that's “holy cross” in Spanish), on the

other hand, is a colorful procession that recalls Queen Helena's search for the holy cross.

The regular Filipino Sunday mass with Father Gene Bacareza and happy get-togethers: well,

Rossana's homesickness didn't exist anymore.

Letters from her family asked more and more often, when we would visit the Philippines again.

And then came the big day of a private visit of Vice President Salvador Laurel and family.

Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice-president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino and briefly served as the last prime minister. Rossana had so many questions for

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entertainer son Cocoy.

Then finally Rossana and I sat down and discussed how we could book our flight to the Philippines because the news from home wasn't all positive.

(To be continued)

‘Klaus Doring was born in Spenge, a little village near Bielefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia, former West Germany. A publishing house manager and journalist by profession, i.e. managing editor for law magazines in Berlin, New York and Amsterdam, radio and TV host.’

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

April 26 - May 2, 2021

This month in World War II History:

Four Days of Hell in May

(1942 & 1945)

Two Battles for Purple Heart Canyon Probably one of the most intriguing tales to come out of Bukidnon during World War II were the two battles fought in Mangima Canyon in 1942 and 1945.

In the first instance, the Mindanao Force of the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) under Lt. Gen. William F. Sharp were defending Northern Mindanao against the invading Kawamura Detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942.

Barely three years later, it was the Imperial Japanese Army’s (IJA) 30th Panther Division turn to defend the same area against the returning Allied Forces led by the 108th Regimental Combat Team of the US Army’s 40th Sunrise Division supported by guerrillas of the110th Division of the 10th Military District, US Forces in the Philippines under Col. Wendell W. Fertig in 1945.

divisions mobilized, in the south, only the 61st, 81st, and 101st, remained in the area.

The 71st and 91st were moved to Luzon, leaving behind their last mobilized regiments, the 73d and 93d. In addition, a large number of provisional units and some Constabulary units were formed at the outbreak of the war.

Between 2 and 3 January 1942, the 61st and 81st Field Artillery Regiments were shipped to Cagayan from Panay and Negros, respectively, as part of a large scale relocation of troops from the Visayas to Mindanao to strengthen the latter’s defenses. Both units were organized and equipped as infantry, due to the lack of artillery.

On 12 January, United States Army Infantry Colonel William P. Morse was assigned commander of the Cagayan Sector of the Mindanao Force portion of the Visayan-

IJA 5th division landing on Malaya1941. The Kawamura Detachment was an elite component of this unit.

What made these two events particularly interesting besides happening at the same place exactly three years apart was that each time it took the aggressor force approximately the same time (four days) to dislodge the spirited defenders who were both considered disadvantaged in terms of manpower, logistics and air support, but held the hellish terrain from which to fight a tenacious defense.

Also, in both cases the strategic targets remained the same, control of the Sayre Highway (Highway No. 3) which links the north coast of Mindanao at Bugo, Cagayan, Misamis to Davao City at its southern terminus. At the time, it was the only passable (if barely) road artery linking both sides of the island which made its defense and capture strategically important.

Another strategic objective of these two operations was the Del Monte airfield complex in Tankulan (present day Manolo Fortich) which was the only airfield in Mindanao capable of handling heavy bombers.

Control of this key airfield complex meant shorter transit and longer loiter times for fighter and bomber sorties to any point in Mindanao and the Visayas.

World War II comes to Northern Mindanao The defense of Mindanao and the Visayas in 1942 rested with the Visayan- Mindanao Force, commanded by Brig.

Gen. William F. Sharp, who had his headquarters at Cebu.

This force was composed almost entirely of Philippine Army troops. Of the five

Mindanao Force, including both regiments.

General Sharp's problems were similar to those faced by the USAFFE commanders on Luzon. His untrained men lacked personal and organizational equipment of all types.

There were not enough uniforms, blankets, or mosquito bars to go around, and though each man had a rifle-the Enfield '17- not all understood its use. Moreover, many of the rifles were defective and quickly broke down.

Many of the.30- and .50caliber machine guns issued were defective and had to be discarded. Spare parts for all weapons were lacking and guns that could have been repaired had to be discarded.

There were no antitank guns, grenades, gas masks, or steel helmets for issue, and the supply of ammunition was extremely limited.

Sharp's most serious shortage was in artillery.

Though he received eight old 2.95-inch mountain guns from Manila in December, three were immediately lost two weeks later at Davao.

The remaining five pieces constituted Sharp's entire artillery support throughout the campaign.

The organization of the Visayan-Mindanao Force established early in January lasted only about one month.

On 4 February, USAFFE assumed direct control of the garrisons on Panay and Mindoro, both a part of Sharp's command.

A month later, the

remaining Visayan garrisons were separated from General Sharp's command which was then redesignated the Mindanao Force.

This separation reflected MacArthur's desire to insure the most effective defense of Mindanao, which he hoped to use as a base for his promised return to the Philippines.

Individual and unit training continued at a steady pace and was supplemented by special instruction at a school in infantry tactics in central Mindanao. The school was staffed by Philippine Scouts of the 43d Infantry.

The greatest drawback to the training program was the shortage of ammunition. The supply was so limited that its expenditure on the firing range was prohibited. Instead, the men spent long hours in simulated fire, with doubtful results.

The Cagayan Sector In the critical Cagayan Sector, which included the northern terminus of the vital Sayre Highway and the vital Del Monte Airfield, Sharp had the Mindanao Force reserve, and the 102d Division (PA).

This division, formed from existing and provisional units after the outbreak of war, consisted of the 61st and 81st Field Artillery, organized and equipped as infantry, and the 103d Infantry. Col. William P. Morse, the division and sector commander, posted his troops along Macajalar Bay, between the Tagoloan and Cagayan Rivers.

The 81st Field Artillery, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John P. Woodbridge, reinforced by a 65-man detachment composed of ground personnel-turnedinfantrymen from the 30th Bombardment Squadron (that had been left at Del Monte when their squadron departed for Australia), held a four-mile sector from the Tagoloan to the Sayre Highway.

The four-mile stretch of coast line from the highway to the Cugman River was defended by the 61st Field Artillery under Col. Hiram W. Tarkington. On the left (west), extending the line to the Cagayan River, was Maj. Joseph R. Webb's 103d Infantry.

Soon after the assignment of sectors to the 61st and 81st Field Artillery, Major Reed Graves' 1st Battalion, 101st Infantry reduced the 81st Field Artillery sector by taking over positions west from Tin-ao Canyon to the Little Agusan River.

Around a week later the battalion was transferred south and replaced by the 3rd Philippine Constabulary Regiment, which took over the area from the Cagayan River to Barrio Gusa. The constabulary unit was in turn relieved by the 103rd Infantry, less 2nd Battalion, around 15 February.

The formation of the 102nd Division from the troops of the Cagayan Sector under the command of Morse was authorized by Gen. Douglas MacArthur via USAFFE General Order No. 43 on 15 March during his brief layover in Del Monte, Bukidnon after his successful breakout by PT Boat from Corregidor.

Its 102nd Engineer Battalion was organized from

personnel of the Surigao Provisional Battalion, while men from the Agusan Provisional Battalion and 2nd Provisional Battalion (Cotabato) were used to form the Headquarters Company, Service Troops and the 102nd Maintenance and Quartermaster Companies.

“I was in the middle of my architecture studies at Mapua Institute of Technology in Manila, after reverting to inactive status in the military, when I was called to active duty, “ recalls the late Col. Leonardo Hernando (ret.), then 26 years old and earlier commissioned as a 3rd Lieutenant in the Philippine Army at the School for Reserved Commission in Camp Keithley, Lanao in 1937.

“The war in Europe and the conflict in the Pacific in 1941 were spreading to the Philippines, I was inducted into the USAFFE [United States Army Forces Far East] and later mobilized in Zamboanga as a company commander in the 1st Battalion, 103rd Infantry Regiment,” Col. Hernando recalled in Annie Gorra Rago’s anthology “City of Gold”.

About 1 May, the 102nd Division numbered 4,713 men, including nineteen American officers, 67 American enlisted men (65 from the Air Corps detachment and two in the 61st

Machines Guns of the Heavy Weapons Companies 1st Bn, 108th RCT fire on Hill No. 2 on the Mangima Valley Area 15 May 1945 (US Signal Corps) Borneo and arrived at Lingayen Gulf on 1 April. It consisted of Headquarters, 35th Brigade, and the 124th Infantry, both from the 18th Division.

Led by Maj. Gen. Kiyotake Kawaguchi, the brigade commander, this force, with the addition of 14th Army supporting and service troops, was organized into a separate detachment known as the Kawaguchi Detachment.

Four days later elements of the 5th Division from Malaya, consisting of the headquarters of Maj. Gen. Saburo Kawamura's 9th Infantry Brigade and the 41st Infantry, reached Lingayen.

With these troops, augmented by service and supporting troops, Homma formed the

Due to the lack of ammunition, Philippine Army recruits in 1942 had no experience firing their weapons with live rounds. (LIFE Carl Mydans) Field Artillery), 268 Filipino officers, and 4,359 Filipino enlisted men.

The 103rd Infantry was the strongest with nearly 1,800 personnel, while the 61st and 81st Field Artillery numbered slightly more than 1,000.

Japanese invasion of Mindanao Japanese planning for operations in the south did not begin until late in the Philippine campaign. The initial 14th Army plan for the conquest of the Philippines contained only brief references to Mindanao and the Visayas, which were expected to fall quickly once Manila was taken.

Finally, early in March, came orders to begin operations in the south concurrently with those against Bataan and Corregidor.

It was several weeks before the troops scheduled for deployment in the south reached the Philippines. The first contingent came from

Kawamura Detachment. These two detachments, plus the Miura Detachment already at Davao, constituted the entire force assigned the conquest of the southern Philippines.

The Japanese plan provided for a coordinated attack from three directions by separate forces toward a common center, followed by a quick mop-up of the troops in the outlying portions of the island.

The Miura Detachment, was already on the island, on garrison duty at Davao and Digos, a short distance to the south. It was to be relieved by a battalion of the 10th Independent Garrison and then strike out from Digos toward the Sayre Highway.

Its route of advance would be northwest along Route 1, which intersected the Sayre Highway about midway across the island.

The other two forces committed to the Mindanao operation, the

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Kawaguchi and Kawamura Detachments, would have to make amphibious assaults.

Each would be relieved of responsibility for the security of the island it had occupied, embark in the waiting transports, and sail under naval escort by divergent routes to its designated target.

Kawamura was to come ashore in northern Mindanao at the head of Macajalar Bay, the starting point of the Sayre Highway. While a small portion of his force struck out to the west to meet Kawaguchi's men, the bulk of the detachment would march south through central Mindanao, along the Sayre Highway. Ultimately, elements of the three detachments-one marching east, another west, and the third south-would join along the Digos-Cotabato stretch of Route 1 across the narrow waist of the island.

Late in April three battalions of the 10th Independent Garrison took over garrison duty on Mindanao, Cebu, and Panay.

Colonel Miura immediately moved south from Davao to Digos to prepare for his advance along Route 1, while Kawamura and Kawaguchi began to embark their troops for the coming invasion. First to sail was the Kawaguchi Detachment which left Cebu on 26 April in six transports escorted by two destroyers.

Kawamura's departure from Panay came five days later and brought him to Macajalar Bay as Kawaguchi's troops were fighting their way northward to greet him. Wainwright's order to Sharp on 30 April, to hold all or as much of Mindanao as possible with the forces he had, found that commander already engaged with the enemy on two fronts.

The 1st Macajalar Bay Landing About 0100 of May 3rd, the Japanese force of about 4,000 men began coming ashore at both extremities of the line, at Cagayan and at the mouth of the Tagoloan River. Supported by fire from two destroyers offshore, the Japanese secured a firm hold of the beach line between the Tagoloan and the Sayre Highway by dawn.

“The Japanese forces landed in great number in the vicinity of Bugo and proceeded toward town,” recalls Col. Hernando.

Kawamura's men who came ashore in the vicinity of Cagayan met a warm reception.

Major Webb attacked the beachhead with two companies and would have driven the enemy back into the sea was forced to break off when his

BATTLES/PAGE 7

Feature

Anzac Day 2021

Metro

CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

April 26 - May 2, 2021

5

Remembering Australian Guerrillas in Mindanao during World War II

A

USTRALIA and New Zealand celebrate Anzac Day on Sunday, April 25, 2021.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”.

Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was first intended to honor members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914– 1918).

For this year’s commemoration of Anzac Day, we honor the memory of two outstanding soldiers of the Royal Australian Army who fought against the Japanese occupiers alongside Filipino and American guerrillas in Tawi-Tawi and Lanao during World War II. Australian military involvement in the liberation of the Philippines began in June 1943, when eight Australian servicemen who had escaped from Sandakan in Sabah joined the Filipino guerrillas fighting on Tawi-Tawi in the southern Philippines.

Among them were then Robert Kerr “Jock” McLaren and then Lt. Rex Blow of the 2/10th Australian Field

Regiment, 8th Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) fighting the Japanese in British Malaya and became prisoners-ofwar (POWs) with the fall of Singapore.

McLaren and two others escaped but were betrayed, recaptured and again imprisoned in Singapore. They contrived to add themselves to a contingent of prisoners being sent to Borneo to a concentration camp. As part of ‘E’ Force, McLaren and Blow were among five hundred British and five hundred Australian prisoners transferred to Borneo in March 1943. The Australians were taken to a camp on Berhala Island, at the entrance to Sandakan harbor in British North Borneo.

They wasted no time in escaping again and stealing a boat from a nearby leper colony, set off to the TawiTawi islands where they were told other Australians were fighting as guerrillas. . Their escape from Berhala Island saved their lives as they then missed the early 1945 Sandakan Death Marches.

They soon contacted Filipino guerrillas, who assisted McLaren and six others to link up with the 125th Infantry Regiment in TawiTawi commanded by veteran Philippine Constabulary officer, Col. Alejandro Suarez in June 1943.

This group was recognized

by Col. Wendell W. Fertig, the commanding officer of the 10th Military District, Mindanao

guerrillas, and composed primarily of Muslim Tausugs, Samals, some Christians and even some sea gypsies.

McLaren had been promoted sergeant in July and served with distinction in the Philippines, receiving a field commission (January 1944) and the rank of temporary captain (April 1945) with the 105th Infantry Regiment in Tawi-Tawi, and later with the 108th Division in Lanao.

From early 1943 the Filipino guerrillas were supplied by submarine with weapons and equipment from Australia. One delivery brought an 8-meter (26-foot) whaleboat.

McLaren took a fancy to the vessel and fitted it with a 20mm cannon in the bow, a .50-calibre gun in the rear and twin .30-inch guns amidships.

He was tempted to add an 81mm mortar until Blow warned him that if he ever fired the mortar it would “blow her stern off ”. McLaren named his boat the Bastard and sailed up and down the coast disrupting enemy supplies and destroying installations.

He attacked Japanese small craft and coastal installations with dash and aggression, qualities he also displayed when commanding combat patrols on land.

The boat would sail into Japanese-controlled ports in daylight hours, direct its automatic fire at the piers and fire its mortar at Japanese boats. It is said that its crew would even challenge the Japanese by sending them invitations. This craft was also effective against Japanese aircraft.

On one mission he and his handpicked Moro crew sailed into the well-defended harbor at Parang, Sulu on the west coast of Mindanao, sinking three enemy vessels. That action won him the first of his

Military Crosses.

On 2 April 1945 McLaren and Blow headed elements of the guerrilla108th Division in an assault on the last Japanese stronghold in Lanao province.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Hedges, the American division commander, recorded that the fighting ended with the capture of the garrison and the destruction of about 450 enemy troops.

As senior officers at both the guerrilla unit and army levels began to appreciate his initiative and dependability, he was often assigned to make small unit and solo forays into Japanese held areas for intelligence. Toward the end of the war, high-level U.S. and Australian commands relied on him to penetrate Japanese areas in the Philippines and former Dutch colonies ahead of planned invasions for the latest intelligence and to scout possible enemy routes of retreat which could then be interdicted.

As a member of the American forces in the Philippines, McLaren was under U.S. command.

However, on 20 April 1945, upon the request of the Australians who had a need for his talents, Lt. General Robert L. Eichelberger personally signed an order releasing McLaren back to Australian command.

During the course of his service, McLaren was decorated with the Military Cross twice for his heroic actions, as well as being Mentioned in Despatches. To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the

Jock McLaren (at left) returning to Berhala Island in October 1945.

high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described.

His M.C. citation read: ‘throughout the whole of his service with the Guerilla Forces, Captain McLaren displayed outstanding leadership in battle and had no regard for his personal safety. His cheerful imperturbability was an inspiration to all with whom he came into contact’. The Americans awarded him the Philippines Liberation ribbon.

Except for a short leave in Australia toward the end of the war, he spent most of the war years serving as a coast watcher and guerrilla leader.

Blow lived a long life, dying of natural causes at 83. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for “highly successful command and leadership during active operations” by the UK, and the Silver Star, third-highest military decoration for valor in combat by the US Army for his service with the guerrillas in the Philippines.

Unidentified United States Army Airforce Pilot, Blow, Colonel Charles W. Hedges, AUS, Colonel Wendell Fertig, 10th Military District

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Despite the time he spent i­ ncommunicado as a prisoner of war and a guerrilla fighter, his war was quite well documented. McLaren was an altogether more elusive figure. Brigadier John Rogers, Australia’s wartime director of military intelligence, described him as a “cloak and dagger” man.

Having begun the war as a private in a field workshop, repairing and maintaining artillery, he ended it as a captain in special operations, but c­ ircumstances meant that most of his war was spent out of sight of the authorities.

Between April 1942 and April 1944 his service record lists him as “missing”; then “reported prisoner of war”; and finally “escaped & on active service – no date given”.

Captain Ray Steele, one of the group that escaped from Sandakan, remembered him as “­ completely fearless”.

On Mindanao, McLaren’s reckless bravery soon made him a marked man. According to Richardson, the Japanese published a bulletin with his photograph and a 70,000-peso reward for his capture, dead or alive.

However, the Japanese never caught him again and he died on 3 March 1956, when he was killed in an accident near his home, after he backed a vehicle against a dead tree, and timber fell on him.

Both men’s wartime exploits are well recorded in books: And Tomorrow Freedom: Australian Guerrillas in the Philippines

by Sheila Ross, and Bastard Behind the Lines by Tom Gilling.

On this Anzac Day 2021, we remember and honor the memory of Capt. Robert Kerr “Jock” McLaren, and Major Rex Blow. Thank you for your service to the Philippines and its people. We shall never forget.

6

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

April 26 - May 2, 2021

Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, Branch 21 12th Judicial Region Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte

Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT REGIONAL TRIAL COURT,BRANCH 21 12th Judicial Region Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte IN RE: PETITION FOR CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF JOVERT AYING ESCALANTE AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF AURORA, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR; CORRECTION OFENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVEBIRTH OF JEMAR AYING ESCALANTE AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE; CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF JONHFUL AYING ESCALANTE AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DELNORTE, AND CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE OF JONAH DOMINQUILLO AYING AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF SULTAN NAGA DIMAPORO, LANAO DEL NORTE,

SPL PROC. NO. 21-568

SPL. PROC. NO. 21-569

ORDER

A verified petition for Notarial Commission for and in the Province of Lanao del Norte was filed by Atty. Samuel Ryan Casas Rudinas on April 15, 2021, praying the Honorable Court that he be appointed as Notary Public for and in the Province of Lanao del Norte.

Finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, and after complying with all the requirements per A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC 2004 otherwise known as the Rules on Notarial Practice, let the notice of hearing of the verified petition be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Lanao del Norte, where the hearing shall be conducted for three (3) consecutive weeks at the expense of the petitioner.

Further, let this order be posted for fifteen (15) consecutive days priorto the date of hearing on the bulletin board of the Municipal Hall of Lala, Lanao del Norte, on the bulletin board of Barangay San Isidro Lower, Lala, Lanao del Norte, where the petitioner hold its Office and on the bulletin board of this court together with the notice of hearing which is attached herewith as Annex “A”.

WHEREFORE, the petition for Notarial commission as Notary Public of Atty. Samuel Ryan Casas Rudinas, is set for summary hearing to June 7, 2021.

SO ORDERED.

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF SULTAN NAGA DIMAPORO, LANAO DEL NORTE, THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF AURORA, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR; THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE; OLIVER PACULANAN ESCALANTE; SEC. TEODORO L. LOCSIN, JR.; MR. LEONILO GORECHO; AND MR. ALLAN VILLAMOR, Respondents. x-------------------------------------------/

Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines.

April 19, 2021.

SGD. ALBERTO P. QUINTO Acting Executive/Presiding Judge Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, Branch 21 12th Judicial Region Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte

IN RE: PETITION FOR NOTARIAL COMMISSION FOR AND IN THE PROVINCE OF LANAO DEL NORTE

ORDER A verified petition for CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF JOVERT AYING ESCALANTE AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF AURORA, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR;CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF JEMAR AYING ESCALANTE AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE; CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF JONHFUL AYING ESCALANTE AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE, AND CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE OF JONAH DOMINQUILLO AYING AT THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OF SULTAN NAGA DIMAPORO, LANAO DEL NORTE was filed by JONAH DOMINQUILLO AYING ESCALANTE on April 07, 2021, The petition alleges, viz; 1. Petitioner JONAH DOMINQUILLO AYING ESCALANTE is of legal age, Filipino, married and a resident of Purok-7, Brgy. La Libertad, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Philippines for more than three (3) years prior to date of filing, whereat she may be served with summons and other processes of this Honorable Court.

2. Public respondents the Hon. Municipal Civil Registrar of Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur with office address at Municipal Hall Building, Poblacion, Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur is impleaded in his official capacity as the keeper of all records of birth in the said municipality; the Hon. Municipal Civil Registrar of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte with office address at Municipal Hall building Poblacion Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, is also impleaded in her official capacity as the keeper of all the records of birth in the said municipality; the Hon. Municipal Civil Registrar of Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte with office address at Municipal Hall Building, Poblacion Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte is impleaded in his official capacity as the keeper of all the records of marriage in the said municipality; and the Hon. Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. is also impleaded in his official capacity as the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with office address at DFA Building, 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

3. Private respondent Oliver Paculanan Escalante is hereby impleaded in his capacity as the husband of therein petitioner and the father of their three (3) legitimate children. He may be served with summons and other processes of this Honorable Court at the same address of the petitioner.

4. That Mr. Leonilo Gorecho of Bansarvil National High School is also impleaded in his official capacity as the head of such school while Mr. Allan Villamor of La Libertad Elementary School is also impleaded in his official capacity as the head of such school.

5. On 05 October 2007, respondent Oliver P. Escalante and petitioner Jonah D. Aying got married at the Office of the Municipal Mayor of Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte. A copy of their “Certificate of Marriage” is hereto marked and attached as ANNEX “A” of this petition.

6. However, before they were married, petitioner got pregnant and delivered their first child on 15 September 2003. They named him “Jovert”. A copy of the “Certificate of Live Birth” of Jovert Aying Escalante is hereto marked and attached as ANNEX “B” of this petition.

7. Two years after, petitioner got pregnant again and delivered their second child on 01 September 2005. They named him “Jemar”. A copy of the “Certificate of Live Birth” of Jemar Aying Escalante is hereto marked and attached as ANNEX “C” of this petition.

8. After several years, on 29 January 2014, petitioner got pregnant again and delivered their third child. They named him “Johnful”. A copy of the “Certificate of Live Birth” of Johnful Aying Escalante is hereto marked and attached as ANNEX “D” of this petition.

9. However, the three (3) children grew up and went to school using their respective Certificate of Live Birth with the incorrect spelling of their mother’s middle name and incorrect date of marriage of their parents.

10. However, just recently, petitioner and her three (3) children applied for passport issuance with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)- Clarin Consular Office and these discrepancies were seen and discovered by the said government agency.

11. Hence, in order to avoid confusion and to harmonize the conflicting dates, middle names and/or spellings, petitioner (as a wife and mother of her three children comes before this Honorable Court to seek its help in harmonizing and/or correcting the mistakes done in the past.

12. Petitioner is a natural-born Filipino citizen and of good moral standing, with no criminal, civil or administrative records as shown in the foregoing National Police Clearance which is hereto attached and made an integral part as ANNEX “E” of this petition.

13. Also, petitioner is a long time and bona fide resident of Purok 7 Brgy. La Libertad, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte as shown in the Certification issued by the said barangay which is hereto attached as ANNEX “F”.

14. Furthermore, this instant Petition is not made to conceal any criminal act or to facilitate the commission of any crime but purely to avoid confusion with regard to the entries in the Certificate of Marriage of herein petitioner and the entries in the Certificates of Live Birth of her three (3) legitimate children.

Finding the verified petition sufficient in form and substance, the same is hereby set for initial hearing to June 29, 2021 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning. Let this order be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Lanao del Norte once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks at the expense of the petitioner.

The LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF SULTAN NAGA DIMAPORO, LANAO DEL NORTE, THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF AURORA, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR; THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF KAPATAGAN, LANAO DEL NORTE; OLIVER PACULANAN ESCALANTE; SEC. TEODORO L. LOCSIN, JR.; MR. LEONILO GORECHO; AND MR. ALLAN VILLAMOR and any person who has an interest in the petition may file his/her opposition thereto within fifteen (15) days from notice of this petition or from the last day of publication of this order.

Further, let this Order be posted for fifteen (15) consecutive days prior to the date of hearing on the bulletin board of the Municipal Hall of Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte; Municipal Hall of Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte; Municipal Hall of Aurora Zamboanga del Sur; on the bulletin board of barangay La Libertad, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte where the petitioner was alleged being born and on the bulletin board of this Court.

The petitioner is directed to notify this court of the publication of this order three (3) days before the scheduled hearing date.

Furnish copy of this Order to the Solicitor General, Makati City; the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Lanao del Norte; The Administrator and Civil Registrar General, Philippine Statistics Authority, East Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila; Atty. Pepito G. Cadavos, counsel for the Petitioner and the petitioner Jonah Dominquillo Aying Escalante.

SO ORDERED. Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte.

April 19, 2021.

ATTY. SAMUEL RYAN CASAS RUDINAS, Petitioner. x------------------------------------------/

JONAH DOMINQUILLO AYING ESCALANTE Petitioner.

- versus -

IN RE: PETITION FOR NOTARIAL COMMISSION FOR AND IN THE PROVINCE OF LANAO DEL NORTE

SGD. ALBERTO P. QUINTO Acting Presiding Judge

SPL. PROC. NO. 21-569

ATTY. SAMUEL RYAN CASAS RUDINAS, Petitioner. x------------------------------------------/

ANNEX “A”

NOTICE OF HEARING

Notice is hereby given that a summary hearing on the petition for Notarial Commission For and In the Province of Lanao del Norte of ATTY. SAMUEL RYAN CASAS RUDINAS, , shall be held on June 07, 2021 at the session hall of this Court – Regional Trial Court, Branch 21, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte at 8:30 o’clock in the morning. Any person who has any cause or reason to object to the grant of the petition may file a verified written opposition thereto, received by the undersigned before the date of the summary hearing.

April 19, 2021.

SGD. ALBERTO P. QUINTO Acting Executive/Presiding Judge

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL 10TH Judicial Region BRANCH 24 CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY HEIRS OF OSIAS DEL PUERTO rep. by Ma. CARMENCITA DEL PUERTO DEL RIO Petitioners,

R-CDO-21-00309-CV FOR: CANCELLATION OF TAX DECLARATION NO. G-306183

-versusHEIRS OF EULOGIA DEL PUERTO AND THE CITY ASSESSORS OFFICE OF CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Respondents. x---------------------------------------------------/ AMENDED ORDER

This is a Petition for Cancellation of Tax Declaration No. G-306183 filed by the Heirs of Osias del Puerto, represented by Ma. Carmencita del Puerto del Rio, alleging, among others, that there is an annotation on the Tax Declaration, above-mentioned, which is over a certain parcel of land designated as Lot No. 4445 C-7, originally surveyed on November 19, 1929, located at Canitoan, Cagayan de Oro City, containing an area of 3,258 square meters, more or less; that the heirs of Osias del Puerto are the heirs and successors-in-interest of Osias del Puerto, who was the survey claimant of the parcel of land subject of this case; that petitioners are the possessors in the concept of owners of Lot 4445 C-7, deriving their rights of ownership from Osias del Puerto who was their ancestor and predecessor-in-interest, and the survey claimant of the subject parcel of land; that petitioners were surprised when they recently found out that Lot No. 4445 C-7 was registered for taxation purposes in the Assessor’s Office, in the name of heirs of Eulogio del Puerto and found out that a certain “Affidavit” designated as Document Number 117, Page 23, Book 1, Series of 1963, was executed, and notarized by Alberto Bacal, and was made the basis of transfer; that petitioners, through counsel, verified with the City Archives of Cagayan de Oro City, as to the presence of such document at its files and found out there was indeed such an “ Affidavit”, and that it was only Federico del Puerto and Antonio del Puerto who signed such document; that respondent Heirs of Eulogio del Puerto managed to register Lot No. 4445 C-7 through Fraudulent means by executing an “ Affidavit” which is perjurious by narrating, among others, that Lot No. 4445 C-7 was part of the Estate of Josefa Abrogar when in truth and in fact, it was Osias del Puerto who was the owner and original survey claimant of such land and who never parted ownership over such property through a public instrument; that the “Affidavit” was executed sometime on December 27, 1963, but the efficacy thereof was made to retroact to 1948 as what appeared as the original year of iisuance of the Tax Declaration, as appearing on the Historical Index of Cadastral Lots; that at presents, Lot No. 4445 C-7 is intact and in the exclusive and notorious possession of the Heirs of Osias del Puerto in the concept of owners; and that petitioners’ Attorney-in-Fact executed a Judicial Affidavit in support of this petition. Thus, this Petition.

This Petition will be called for initial hearing on May 26, 2021, in the morning, during which the jurisdictional requirements of posting and notice to all persons who have interests which would be affected by this petition, will be proved. Further, let this Order, together with copies of the Petition and its annexes; be posted before the initial hearing at the Bulletin Boards of this Court, City hall of Cagayan de Oro City, Provincial Capitol of Misamis Oriental, and the Barangay Hall of the Barangay where the land is located.

At the expense of the Petitioner, let this Order be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Cagayan de Oro, and in the province of Misamis Oriental. Further, let this Order, together with copies of the Petition and its annexes; be posted before the initial hearing at the Bulletin Boards of this Court, City Hall of Cagayan de Oro City, Provincial Capitol of Misamis Oriental, and the Barangay Hall of the Barangay where the Petitioner and private respondent are residing.

Any interested person may, within fifteen (15) days from notice hereof, file an Opposition to the Petition.

Let a copy each of this Order be furnished to the Petitioner, Atty. Al Ponciano R. Datu, Heirs of Eulogio del Puerto, namely: Antonio del Puerto, whose address is Cugman Cagayan de Oro City, and Federico del Puerto, whose address is No. 20, del Pilar Street, Cagayan de Oro City, and the City Assessor’s Office of Cagayan de Oro City.

SO ORDERED

ISSUED this 25th day of March 2021, at Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.

(SGD) HENRY B. DAMASING Presiding Judge

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right flank became exposed.

In response to the Japanese landing, Sharp moved forward the 2.95-inch gun detachment of Major Paul D. Phillips, the 62nd Infantry of Lieutenant Colonel Allen Thayer, and the 93rd Infantry of Major John C. Goldtrap.

Major Phillips' detachment had hardly set up its guns when it came under fire from the Japanese advancing along the Sayre Highway at 0730.

In the initial attack the detachment was forced back about 700 yards. Fortunately, the Japanese failed to press their advantage and Phillips was able to organize another holding position at his new location.

He was joined here early in the afternoon by advance elements of the 93d Infantry; the rest of that regiment when it reached the area prepared a second position a short distance to the south. The 62d Infantry, whose assembly area was farther south on the Sayre Highway, failed to join the other two units that day.

Although the enemy controlled the beaches and the northern terminus of the Sayre Highway, his own troops had disengaged without loss and were in position along a secondary line of defense.

Already part of his reserves were blocking the highway and other troops were moving up to their support. So optimistic was the general that he set his staff to work on a plan to counterattack north along the highway next morning.

The optimism at force headquarters was quickly faded when it was learned the enemy had pushed back the 61st and 81st Field Artillery, with the 103d Infantry in danger of being outflanked.

Hopes for a counterattack were dealt the final blow when, at 1600, Morse ordered a general withdrawal to defensive positions astride the Sayre Highway, about six miles south of the beach. The move was to be made that night under cover of darkness.

“We soon abandoned our beach defenses and withdrew to the hills of Kiliog, Bukidnon,” noted Col. Hernando.

Before this plan could be put into effect it was changed by Sharp, who, after a conference with Morse, Woodbridge, and Webb, decided to establish his next line even farther south than the line already selected.

The position selected paralleled the Mangima Canyon, a formidable natural barrier east of the town of Tankulan, and the Mangima River. At Tankulan the Sayre Highway splits, one branch continuing south then east, the other east then south. Before the two join, eight air miles east of Tankulan, they form a rough circle bisected from north to south by the Mangima Canyon and River.

East of the junction of the canyon and the upper road lies the town of Dalirig; to the south the river cuts across the lower road before Puntian. Possession of these two towns would enable the defenders to block all movement down the Sayre Highway to central Mindanao.

At 2300, 3 May, Sharp issued orders for the withdrawal to the Mangima line. The right (north) half of the line, the Dalirig Sector, was to be held by the 102d Division which had been reorganized and now consisted of the 62d Infantry, the 81st Field Artillery, the 2.95-inch gun detachment, and Companies C and E of the 43rd Infantry (Philippine Scouts), under Morse's command from force reserve.

Col. William F. Dalton, took command of the Puntian Sector on the lower (southern road) with the 61st Field Artillery and the 93rd Infantry. Separated by the Japanese advance, the 103rd Infantry was made independent, tasked with defending the Cagayan River valley. The Third Battalion, 103rd Infantry Regiment under Maj. Robert V. Bowler withdrew to Talakag.

In the Dalirig Sector, Lt. Col. Allen Thayer's 62d Infantry,

April 26 - May 2, 2021

closely supported by the 2.95inch gun detachment, occupied the main line of resistance along the east wall of Mangima Canyon. Companies C and E, 43d Infantry (Philippine Scouts), Colonel Morse's reserve, were stationed in Dalirig, and in a draw 500 yards behind the town were the 200 men of the 81st Field Artillery, which had had a strength of 1,000 when the Japanese landed.

The 1st Battle of Mangima Canyon The division's 62nd Infantry held the main line of resistance along the east wall of Mangima Canyon, closely supported by the 2.95-inch gun detachment, while the reserve, Companies C and E of the 43rd Infantry (Philippine Scouts), was stationed in Dalirig poblacion. The remnants of the 81st Field Artillery, reduced to 200 men, were stationed in a draw 500 yards behind the town.

On the morning of 6 May the Kawamura Detachment resumed its attack, passing through Tankulan and began to advance along the upper road toward Dalirig. Late that afternoon the Japanese moved into Tankulan in force and began to register their artillery on Dalirig.

There was little action the next day. Japanese artillery, well out of range of Major Phillips' 2.95-inch guns, dropped their shells accurately into the 62d Infantry line while their aircraft bombed and strafed gun positions and troops. The left battalion suffered most from the bombardment and Colonel Thayer finally had to send in his reserve battalion to bolster the line.

On 08 May the Japanese attacked the 3d Battalion, 103rd Infantry defending Talakag so effectively only ninety of Bowler’s men managed to escape. This opened a dangerous backdoor “into the very heart of Bukidnon.”

In the Puntian Sector the Japanese contained Dalton's troops by artillery fire. The bombardment continued until 19:00 of the same day when Kawamura attacked Sharp’s main line of resistance across the Sayre Highway at Mangima Canyon, successfully infiltrating the division's lines.

Until the night of 8-9 May, Dalton had been able to maintain contact with the 62d Infantry on his right (north) but during the confusion which marked the fighting that night he lost contact.

After holding through the night, the 62d Infantry held on as long as possible but by morning the tired and disorganized Filipinos had been pushed off the main line of resistance and were falling back on Dalirig.

Already the 2.95-inch gun detachment had pulled out, leaving the Companies C and E of the 43rd Infantry, Philippine Scouts as the last organized resistance in the sector.

In an effort to relieve the pressure on Thayer's regiment he launched his own attack the next morning. Though the attack was successful it failed to achieve its purpose, for the disorganized 62d Infantry was already in full retreat.

At about 1130 of the 9th, as the 62d Infantry began to withdraw through Dalirig, Kawamura’s men entered the town from three sides and struck the retreating Filipinos.

Already disorganized, the troops of the 62d Infantry scattered. The two Scout companies under Maj. Allen L. Peck, made a brave stand but finally withdrew just before they were encircled.

By the end of the 9 May the Dalirig Sector forces no longer existed, except for the 150 men of the 2.5-inch gun detachment, holding positions five miles to the east of the town.

Along the southern branch of the highway Dalton and his two regiments still held firm at Puntian. But already Kawamura was sending additional troops to this sector and increasing the pressure against the Puntian force.

"North front in full retreat," Sharp radioed MacArthur.

"Enemy comes through right

flank. Nothing further can be done. May sign off any time now." Except for the resistance of scattered units, the Japanese campaign in Mindanao was over.

Mindanao Surrendered Sharp surrendered his command on 10 May 1942 in Malaybalay, after the Fall of Corregidor, having ordered the 102nd Division units in the Dalirig Sector at 21:30 on 9 May to surrender at daybreak.

Including the 103rd Infantry, the division surrendered sixteen American officers and four enlisted men, as well as eighty Filipino officers and 622 enlisted men. The remainder were listed as missing in action.

Three American officers, seven Filipino officers, and 166 Filipino enlisted men from the 62nd Infantry surrendered, while only the two American officers of the two 43rd Infantry companies surrendered.

The surrendered personnel of the division were sent to the former 101st Division camp (Camp Casisang) at Malaybalay, along with the other surrendered personnel of the Mindanao Force.

The 102nd Division personnel who remained unsurrendered simply disappeared into the hills of Mindanao; many later continued the fight as guerrillas.

“Our unit under Major Joseph Webb, commander of the 103rd Infantry Regiment disbanded in Tagitik, Bukidnon near Imbatug. Some of my fellow soldiers opted to return to Zamboanga while I chose to stay in Imbatug,” Hernando recalled.

He later joined the 109th Infantry Regiment under Major Fidencio Laplap, and was designated the Regimental Intelligence Officer (S-2), and later promoted to 1st Lieutenant by 30 April 1945.

The Turn of the Tide Three years later, the fortunes of the war in the Pacific had reversed and Allied forces under Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Douglas MacArthur were island hopping towards Japan in a two-pronged offensive across the Pacific.

Two of the greatest naval battles in history sealed Japan’s doom. In the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Mobile Fleet under Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa, was so decimated by the US Fifth Fleet under Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, it limped home with only 35 aircraft of the 430 with which it had begun the battle.

Four months later, the two armadas faced off again in The Battle of Leyte Gulf, dubbed the greatest naval engagement in history, and the largest naval battle of World War II. For the Japanese the defeat at Leyte Gulf was catastrophic, the Imperial Japanese Navy had suffered its greatest ever loss of ships and men in combat.

On 20 October 1944 the US Sixth Army landed on the eastern shore of Leyte, north of Mindanao. The US Sixth Army continued its advance from the east, while the Japanese rushed reinforcements to the Ormoc Bay area on the western side of the island.

After retaking Mindoro, ten US divisions and five independent regiments battled on Luzon, making it the largest campaign of the Pacific War, involving more troops than the United States had used in North Africa, Italy, or southern France.

The Victor operations followed with the retaking of Palawan, Panay, Cebu, Negros until the US Eight Army finally landed in the Mindanao mainland on Zamboanga and Parang, Cotabato in the final phase dubbed Victor V. The IJA Defense of Northern Mindanao Lt. General Gyokasu Morozumi assumed command of the defense of Mindanao following the departure of Gen. Sosako Suzuki to Leyte, and found himself in similar dire straits as Lt. Gen. William Sharp three years earlier.

Morozumi, commanding the 30th Division, had about 17,500 troops under his control.

His strength included 8,000-odd men of his own division, around

4,500 troops of attached combat and service elements, and nearly 5,000 Army Air Force personnel.

Trained ground combat effectives numbered roughly 5,800.

Morozumi divided his combat strength among five defensive units.

The Northern Sector Unit with 4,500 men defended the shores of Macajalar Bay, on Mindanao's north-central coast 30 air miles northwest of Malabalay, and Sayre Highway from the bay southeast 25 miles to Maluko.

From the deployment of his Central and Northern Sector Units--well over half his strength--it seems obvious that Morozumi was more concerned with the possibility of an attack from Macajalar Bay than with an American drive north from Kibawe.

Adding to the manpower and logistics shortages facing Morozumi at the time was the intensified Allied air attacks on Mindanao beginning 09 September 1944 which greatly hampered the movement of his troops and resulted in considerable damage to his supplies.

The 2nd Landing at Macajalar Bay When it became apparent that the Japanese were planning a final stand in the hills northwest of Davao. General Eichelberger ordered the 108th Regimental Combat Team, 40th Division, to land at Macajalar Bay on 10 May 1945, and open the Sayre Highway from the north. This force would then drive down the Sayre Highway to meet the 31st Division advancing from the south.

This landing, known as the Victor-V-A Operation was made in accordance with General Eichelberger’s plan for the clearance of the Sayre highway.

At 0830 on 10 May (Q-Day), the 108th Regimental Combat Team (40th Division) made an unopposed landing and secured a beachhead northeast of Agusan near Bugo in the Macajalar Bay Area.

Commanded by Col. Maurice D. Stratta, made contact almost immediately with the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 110th Infantry Regiment (guerrilla) of the 110th Division which had earlier secured the beachhead at Tin-ao, Barrio Agusan.

Leading elements of the 108th Infantry quickly secured the high ground 4,700 yards south of Agusan on the Sayre Highway and the 1st Battalion reached a point three miles northeast of Alae. It met only light and scattered resistance, and found that many excellent defensive positions along the road had been abandoned. There were 20 enemy casualties on 10 May. Guerrillas from the 109th Division captured Cagayan on 12 May, flushed out an estimated 300 Japanese and drew them to the east. They reported that the entire north coast of Mindanao was clear of Japanese. At this time it was learned that the enemy to the south was burning supplies and destroying bridges on the Sayre Highway.

The 3rd Battalion secured Del Monte Airfield on 12 May and the 1st Battalion met light resistance as it advanced north on the highway to 2,300 years northeast of Tankulan.

Purple Heart Canyon Advancing inland, the 108th RCT encountered no significant resistance until 13 May, when, eighteen miles inland, it came upon strong Japanese defenses where Sayre Highway zigzags up and down the steep slopes of the Mangima River canyon.

Here Morozumi had posted a delaying force of about 1,250 men supported by a few pieces of light artillery.

Patrols from the 1st and 3rd Battalions ran into heavy fire at the entrance to the canyon.

The 1st Battalion CP received 31 rounds of 90mm mortar fire.

This was the first determined resistance encountered by the 108th on Mindanao.

It was going to develop into one of the most difficult operations in the Philippines.

The enemy defenses covered both flanks of the

entrance to the canyon, and patrols reconnoitering the area discovered that the canyon itself was strongly defended.

Weapons of every caliber, from small arms to field artillery, were strategically emplaced and well camouflaged, commanding every approach with registered fire. Many barbed wire installations with mines attached had been set up.

Air force base personnel, left behind to cover the evacuation of the main Japanese forces to the east, manned these defenses and 90mm antiaircraft artillery, and placed heavy fire on our personnel.

The canyon terrain itself already presented the Americans with a formidable obstacle, just like it did to the soldiers of the Kawamura Detachment three years earlier. Coupled with the intricate defenses of the Japanese defenders made it a formidable natural fortress.

“10 miles inland there was a huge canyon running parallel to the beach that was a natural defensive position, so the Japs slowly pulled back to this position, called the Mangima Canyon,” wrote Charles Edwin Dyer of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 108th RCT, in his post war memoirs.

“This was the logical place to make a determined stand.

There was a deep, fast flowing river at the bottom of the canyon and the bridge across it had been blown up. Patrols were sent down the canyon wall in several places and all encountered fire from the other side.”

“Part of the canyon was vertical and solid rock and it protruded out some, offering us some protection. Bullets kept hitting this rock and I remember thinking how much this was like a John Wayne movie, because those ricochets really did sound like the ones in the movies. The sides were pretty steep in places and it was difficult to move around the rocks and ground cover. None of the companies were able to find a crossing place and they all took casualties, so this became known as Purple Heart Canyon.

Besides the unforgiving terrain and fanatical Japanese resistance, the troops also had to cope with the hellish fighting conditions and climate.

Although Morozumi probably did not know it, he had stationed his delaying groupment at the same point a USAFFE force had chosen to hold just three years earlier when the Kawamura Detachment foreshadowed the 108th RCTs operation and landed at Macajalar Bay to drive south along Sayre Highway.

On 14 May the 3rd Battalion launched an attack down he Sayre Highway against heavy opposition. If anything, it seemed the hail of gunfire coming from the Japanese intensified even more.

Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion crossed Mangima Canyon east of Tankulan with little opposition. Pillboxes along the line of attack had to be destroyed, thereby slowing down the advance.

After an airstrike on the morning of May 15th, the Second and Third Battalions launched an attack with the 3rd Battalion coming under intense heavy mortar, artillery and rifle fire, and ran into a wired

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7

mine field with machine guns covering the mine field.

The 3rd Battalion continued the attack on 16 May against the Japanese strongholds at the river crossing, but during the day it was relieved by the 1st Battalion which continued to press the attack. Leading elements of the 2nd Battalion reached the high ground 2,700 yards east of Tankulan after crossing the Mangima River south of the highway.

The 108th History recounts how the covering fire drove the Japanese into their caves, allowing the assault platoons to move up to the entrances and destroy about 25 of the enemy and six positions, using bazookas, grenades, and rifles.

Continuing their advance, the 2nd Battalion advanced 800 yards and occupied high ground commanding the southern mouth of the canyon, while the 3rd battalion moved east.

On 18 May the 1st Battalion eliminated the last enemy pocket at the Sayre Highway crossing and continued east on the highway, occupying Dalirig the following day. At the same time, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions advanced abreast, astride the highway, reaching a position one mile east of Dalirig.

They patrolled along the Mangima River and mopped up scattered enemy pockets, and on 20 May advanced into Maluko without resistance.

Battery A, 164th Field Artillery Battalion had displaced from Del Monte to the rim of the canyon after an effective bombardment on Maluko and so severely damaged the enemy it influenced their evacuation and abandonment of the town.

The withdrawal took place on May 18th. On June 1st, the reconnaissance unit at Dalirig withdrew to a point just north of Dalwangan.

Reduction of this strong point was completed on the same day, and the remaining Japanese troops were overcome within the next few days.

Following this action the 108th Infantry--its rear protected by the 3d Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Americal Division's 164th Infantry, which landed on Macajalar Bay on 14 May--continued south to its rendezvous with the 31st Division.

On 21 May the 108th RCT moved south on the Sayre Highway without opposition and on 23 May leading elements of the 1st Battalion made contact with the 155th RCT of the 31st Division near Impalutao, completing the operation in 13 days.

Its share in the task of clearing Sayre Highway cost the 31st Division approximately 90 men killed and 250 wounded, while the 108th Infantry, 40th Division, lost roughly 15 men killed and 100 wounded.

(Non-combat casualties from battle fatigue, sickness, and heat exhaustion were probably heavier.)

Together, the two units killed almost 1,000 Japanese during their operations along the highway, and captured 25 more.

The 108th Infantry’s juncture with Hanna’s 155th Infantry meant total American control of the Sayre Highway and the end of organized Japanese resistance in Mindanao.

Metro

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April 26 - May 2, 2021

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Arch. Nati of IDC to talk about digital applications in the design process On Wednesday April 28, 2021 the Infrastructure and Construction Focus Group will hold another of their very successful digital events and workshops titled “Digital Revolution for AEC Professionals?”. With the expertise of very prominent speakers the event aims to discover the in-and-outs of adopting BIM, SaaS and other digital tools to plan, design, construct, manage and maintain buildings.

Architect Romolo Nati, Chairman and CEO of

Italpinas Development Corporation (IDC) has been invited to talk about his experience in using software and digital applications in planning and designing his green mixed use buildings in Cagayan de Oro and in Sto Tomas, Batangas. As a fierce “Green-Building” advocate he uses passive green design features as a trade mark of his projects and that reflects in a sustainable architectural design that allows energy savings, more natural

ventilation and natural light.

It is exactly such features that have proven to help to protect the health and safety of its residents.

Other speakers of the event are AECOM’s Vice President Sylvester Wong, BIM expert Architect Basa and Planradar’s Sales Partner Manager Fabio Hirsch. Other contributors and moderators will be Architect Ramon Abiera and Lorens Ziller.

The pandemic has

increased the necessity of adopting digital tools for the management of our activities. There are digital tools that not only increase our physical safety from the virus but also make our life easier and our work more productive. This event shows how digitalization has become necessary in nearly all sectors of business and professional life. Either we embrace it or we risk missing the bus. Interested participants can register via ICFG’s Facebook page.

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